Correction to “Metadherin promotes stem cell phenotypes and correlated with immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma”

Abstract

In this Correction Note, we address the article titled “Metadherin promotes stem cell phenotypes and correlated with immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma”. Revisions are required for certain images in Figure 2 of the published manuscript.

Key Words: World Journal of Gastroenterology; Correction

Core Tip: This Correction pertains to specific images in Figure 2 (on page 7) of the manuscript entitled "Metadherin promotes stem cell phenotypes and correlated with immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma".

CORRECTION

A thorough re-examination of the original experimental data and raw image files has confirmed two errors in Figure 2 that were introduced during the finalization stages of the manuscript preparation[1].

First error

Upon comprehensive review of the raw data, it was determined that a same set of experimental images was inadvertently duplicated and misassigned to two distinct experimental groups during figure assembly. Specifically, in the original Figure 2C (migration assay), the two images labeled as the MHCC-97H group were mistakenly allocated to both the MHCC-97H group and the Huh7 group, leading to the erroneous omission of the true Huh7 group data. The original data for the MHCC-97H group are fully consistent with the raw data; however, the correct images for the Huh7 group were overwritten and thus not presented in the published figure. All original data are available for verification. This has been corrected in the revised Figure 1A.

Figure 1 Metadherin promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Characteristic images of transwell invasion assays at 24 hours after culture are shown. A: Corrected version corresponding to the original Figure 2B; B: Corrected version corresponding to the original Figure 2C.

Second error

Upon review, a second error was identified wherein the migration assay image of the MHCC-97 NC group from the original Figure 2B was inadvertently duplicated and misassigned as the invasion assay image of the MHCC-97 RNAi group in Figure 2C. This resulted in the omission of the correct invasion assay data for the MHCC-97 RNAi group from the published figure. These errors occurred due to accidental misplacement of image files during the final figure assembly. For verification, we have re-analyzed the original raw data for multiple migration assays (the migration assay of the MHCC-97 over-expression group, the migration assay of the Huh7 knockout group, and the invasion assay of the MHCC-97H knockout group), and the results remain fully consistent with the conclusions reported in the paper. The corrected data for both the MHCC-97 NC migration and MHCC-97 RNAi invasion assays are now accurately presented in the revised Figure 1B.

Crucially, both errors were solely attributable to human oversight in image file organization during manuscript preparation. The underlying experimental data, study design, and all scientific conclusions of the paper remain entirely valid and unaffected.

We sincerely regret these errors and take full responsibility for the oversight. We extend our apologies to the editors, reviewers, and readers of the World Journal of Gastroenterology for any inconvenience or confusion that this may have caused. We confirm that the corrected figures now accurately represent the distinct experimental groups as described in the manuscript. Importantly, all other aspects of the original publication—including the text, data analyses, results, and conclusions—remain entirely unchanged and valid.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank Institute of Life Sciences, Chongqing Medical University for technical support.